Shares outstanding can never be more than the number of authorized shares. You can find shares outstanding at the top of a company’s 10-Q or 10-K filing. Importantly, the number of shares outstanding is dynamic and fluctuates over time. https://www.bookstime.com/ The weighted average is used by accountants reporting a company’s financial results in accordance with GAAP (Generally Accepted Accounting Principals). Shares outstanding are the total shares of a company currently held by shareholders.

While the lower number of outstanding shares often hampers liquidity, it could also deter short sellers since it becomes more difficult to borrow shares for short sales. The major difference between outstanding and issued shares is that outstanding shares are the shares available with the shareholder at a given period after excluding treasury shares. On the other hand, issued shares are the total shares a company issues to the public in order to raise funds.

Outstanding Shares and Share Repurchase Programs

This is followed by the number of issued shares and then the number of shares outstanding. For example, let’s say a company has 100,000 shares outstanding at the start of the year. Halfway through the year, it issues new shares in the amount of an additional 100,000 shares. Overall, the number of shares outstanding, the metrics you can calculate from it, and related metrics — like the float — provide key insights to investors.

Before their availability on the secondary market, shares are authorized, issued, and, finally, purchased by investors who became equity owners or shareholders of the issuing company. Shareholders of common stock typically possess the right to participate in annual shareholders meetings and contribute toward shares outstanding formula the election of the company’s board of directors. The number of shares outstanding in a company will often change due to a company issuing new shares, repurchasing shares, and retiring existing shares. The number of outstanding shares can also change if other financial instruments are turned into shares.

What Are Outstanding Shares – Its Calculation and How Do They Affect Investors

The reporting period usually coincides with a company’s quarterly or annual reports. A stock split occurs when a company increases its shares outstanding without changing its market cap or value. Companies can also undergo reverse stock splits or consolidate shares. This section provides the sum of the total authorized shares, the total number of shares outstanding, and the total floating shares. While shares outstanding account for company stock that includes restricted shares and blocks of institutional shares, floating stock specifically refers to shares that are available for trading. Floating stock is calculated by taking outstanding shares and subtracting restricted shares.

• A recent example of a reverse stock split is General Electric’s (GE) 1-for-8 reverse stock split during the summer of 2021.
• The reporting period usually coincides with a company’s quarterly or annual reports.
• If the stock becomes more appealing and demand increases due to the lower price, the market capitalization could rise as a result of the stock split.
• This tells you how much of that stock was issued but not how much there currently is.
• This category is often one of the biggest causes of dilution to shares outstanding.
• Now, imagine you are one of the shareholders in XYZ that did not sell their shares as part of the buyback program.

A publicly-traded company can directly influence how many shares it has outstanding. The number of shares outstanding of a company can be found in its quarterly or annual filings (10-Qs or 10-Ks). Outstanding shares also help in understanding the market capitalisation or the value of the business. This category is often one of the biggest causes of dilution to shares outstanding. When companies experience a period with a loss or negative EPS, they will not include dilutive securities in the calculation of EPS, as they would have an anti-dilutive effect. Therefore, the total number of shares outstanding of Apple Inc. at the end of the year 2016 is 5,336.16 million.